High Hopes
by Yesterdays Whisper
Summary: She was a girl of wild notions, he was a man in a boys body controlled by his rules. She was wild, crazy and Free and Peter was just beginning to realise he didn't need to be the Golden Age's High King, he just had to believe in something bigger than himself.


For over one thousand years the wandering tribes of Northern Narnia had been in hiding from the harsh and cruel ruling of the Telmarines. Their tribes had been slowly hunted out like animals until almost all was lost. One of the last remaining tribes was the Northern Tribe, although far from the great numbers it experienced in the Golden Age. The Northern Tribe was made up of an array of creatures, including Fauns, Dwarves and centaurs, but what made this tribe unusual was the fact that the tribe was also home to many humans. Many of the humans had escaped from their life at the Telmarines castle.

Audry was one of the humans, although she had little idea of where she came from before she was taken in by Irmadis, a centaur that had risen to an elder position in the tribe over the past few years. Most believed that with her fair skin she came from across the borders of Narnia, although she never felt the need to search for such truths with the loving family she had acquired through the small tribe.

From a young age the children of the Northern Tribe were trained in warfare and Narnian history. Many Narnian's felt that through being outcasts they would lose their past just like they had their homes. Many of the females were also taught healing and the boys were trained in metal works. To be taught astronomy by the centaurs was of great honour in the tribe and it was only taught to a few select children. Audry was taught to read the stars when it was discovered she had a gift with astrology a most surprising trait to the elder members of the tribe.

Audry was the child of everyone in the tribe, as she had no real parents. She was not tall like most of the humans, and her vibrant red hair often made it harder for her to scout in the forest, but she managed. The men and women of the Northern Tribe were well built and muscular, this was due to their nomadic lifestyle and their constant training for war. Many in the tribe thought that war was inevitable, as the stars had indicated a new beginning. When it came to roles of men and women in the tribe there was no discrimination, women were expected to work and fight just as hard as the men. The women of the tribe could often be found besting the men in many of the combat and sword fights that were held on a regular basis. Depending on a tribe member's skill shown from a young age, each member had a specific role to play.

When Audry began her training it was clear that she was competent in scouting, a method the tribe had put in place to insure their safety at all times, as well as on the rare occasion a rescue mission had to be conducted. Audry was now considered to be of age in the tribe, and along with many of her friends, she went through a ceremony to welcome them to their new life, with formal roles in the community.

This is where our story begins…

Her red hair was flying out behind her as she ran, with trained precision she pulled out an arrow and notched it on her bow. While keeping a steady pace she let the arrow loose and hit with deadly accuracy the deer ahead of her. Audry slowed to a walk while putting her bow on her back, and stopped in front of the deer and pulled out a knife that was secured on her leg. Carving the beast into decent sizes she put the meat in her pouch and threw the pelt over her shoulder. As she was not a fair distance from the tribes current camp Audry walked back to the site and gave her food to Valerie, a wise old faun who took charge of the tribes cooking,

'Audry, another fine catch I see',

'Thank you, I caught it just past the last outpost of the camp', Audry replied while adjusting her bow and arrows on her back.

'Your father will be proud. In fact he is due back from the big scout tonight. We are having a big feast in their honour; you best wear your nicest dress', Audry laughed, father had been gone for a whole week with the senior scouters from the tribe, trying to find the Narnian resistance, the stars showed a new hope.

'I cannot wait to see him again. Valarie, you know I only have the one dress to choose from. Although I do have this pelt and I was thinking of getting another made', the faun just smiled and nodded at Audry and continued stocking the fire.

Walking back into her current makeshift home, she looked in her small bag of belongings, seeing a few spare breaches and tunics as well as one dress. The tribes dresses were unlike most dresses of old Narnia, and were often considered scandalous during the peaceful years. The dress was made of deer hide and reached Audry's knees. The dress had been painted with ochre into patterns of the Great Lion and dancing fauns. The deer hide she was still carrying would make another dress for her and she decided that later she would take the hide to Nestle, a vibrant young dwarf who did most of the seamstress work.


End file.
